Ellisville, Mississippi

Ellisville is a city in Mississippi and the county seat of Jones County. It was named for US Senator Powhatan Ellis, a descendant of Pocahontas, and it became the county seat and the major commercial and population center of Jones County. During the American Civil War, the county was a center of pro-Union resistance, as many locals did not own slaves, and therefore did not want to serve the interests of a small group of wealthy citizens (who, after 1862, were also exempted from military service if they had more than 20 slaves). Newton Knight soon raised 100 guerrillas to fight against the Confederacy, seceding from the CSA to form the "Free State of Jones". In March 1864, the rebels took over the county seat and raised the Union flag from the courthouse. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, nearby Laurel surpassed Ellisville in size. In 2016, Ellisville had a population of 4,567 people.